Happy Landings for Maloney! Adoption story by his adopters.
Maloney’s new life as Maloney Machenheimer all began because of a middle school field trip. It was a Tuesday morning, and I was on an excursion to the Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall with my students to see a performance of “Call of the Wild.” We were all seated and ready for the big show, when the director of the program came on stage to introduce a “special guest.” Out strolled a dog and its handler. The handler introduced the dog as “Maloney” and explained that he was a rescue dog from Satchel’s Animal Shelter. He shyly looked out into the sea of middle school faces, lowered his head and laid down on the stage. I was moved by Maloney’s presence and by the brief information the handler shared. The performance was engaging, but I was distracted by thoughts of Maloney. On the bus ride back to school, I told my students that I wanted to adopt Maloney. They were certain that I was joking until I told them I wanted to text my husband, Mr. Mac, to see what he would think. There were lots of cheers and shouts of encouragement. I sent a picture of Maloney and a message of “Maloney is up for adoption” to Mr. Mac. He quickly replied with “SERIOUSLY?” “Yep! Seriously!” The next day, we submitted an application to meet Maloney. The students were beside themselves with excitement at the idea that their teacher might actually adopt the dog they met from afar on a field trip, it was just so unreal! I received so many inquiries the day after the trip…”Did you go get him?” “When are you going to adopt Maloney?” “Are you really going to meet him?” We hadn’t been looking for a dog. We already had one, Faith, who was a rescue dog from the flood waters of Louisiana. I couldn’t stop thinking about Maloney and the fact that he needed a home. Four days later, Mr. Mac and I were standing in the yard at Satchel’s, waiting for a staff person to bring Maloney out to meet us. I was nervous that he wouldn’t like us, or Mr. Mac would think he wasn’t a good match for our family. And then, the sweet, shy, gentle giant, Maloney came to meet us. He was so kind and gentle! Mr. Mac and I knew instantly that we wanted to be his fur-ever family. Two days later, we made it official. Maloney became “Maloney Machenheimer.” I immediately sent out an adoption announcement and picture to my students. Everyone was so excited! The students haven’t met Maloney, in person, as pets aren’t allowed at school, but they all feel like they know him. They always ask about him. Although we all agree that Maloney is a purebred sweetheart, the students have been trying to guess Maloney’s dog breeds. Mr. Mac and I bought a dog DNA test to find out. All of the students have submitted their predictions and are anxiously awaiting the results. Maloney has been a Machenheimer for six weeks. He has settled in beautifully! He loves going for walks with his dog sister, Faith, chasing frisbee, carrying around his favorite stuffed hammerhead shark, getting lots of pets and rubs from his humans and napping on his giant bed with his fluffy blanket. We can’t imagine life without him!
